A controversial Burnco gravel pit has been brought before the Land and Property Rights Tribunal (LPRT) by concerned Rocky View County residents.
On Wednesday, Feb. 5th, two applicants from Burnco, representatives from Rocky View County, and 10 appellants to the project presented their case at a public hearing, following the approval of both an asphalt plant and gravel washing plant at the Cochrane West site.
The LPRT panel took questions and statements before adjourning to allow time for reviewing the case.
The initial application in question was for Burnco, which operates gravel extraction pits all across the County, to expand its operation by 305 acres. The Calgary-based company said it received all required Provincial approval to expand its operation along the Bow River west of Cochrane.
That decision was postponed by Rocky View County (RVC) council after dozens of local residents appeared before a public hearing on Dec. 3 to voice their concerns over health and safety issues. After hours of public discussion and presentations, the public hearing ended with councillors split on what steps to take next. Council decided the best path forward would be to wait until the County’s Aggregate Resource Plan (ARP) was finalized.
Appellant Susan Hall explained that landowners learned of a separate development permit renewal, which had been approved by RVC, shortly after this hearing.
"This new development permit renewal included an asphalt plant and gravel washing plant," Hall said. "Apparently, it did not need to go to Council but the scope creep was not addressed by RVC administration. We landowners learned of it and appealed."
Scope creep refers to the uncontrolled growth of a project, which Hall said could contain practises that potentially harm the watershed. She noted heavy winds are a concern, potentially blowing asphalt and gravel dust across adjacent farmland.
"Trace amount of metals like arsenic can be found in this dust, and that's blowing all over grass, which could be ingested by grazing cattle, and then ultimately, us," Hall added.
Darryl Cornish, whose property is 800 metres from the mine, argued that de-watering, the practice of removing groundwater to more easily access the gravel underneath, could lead to heavy metal contamination into the Bow River.
"Burnco is removing the gravel down to the fractured bedrock. The location and density of fractures is critical to placement of the settling and clear water ponds for the wash plant," Cornish explained. "If the ponds are placed above a area of the mine with high fracture density, leaks of water with high concentrations of heavy metal contaminants may be released into the aquifer feeding the Kings surface and ground water."
Burnco applicant Travis Coates called the proposed delay unreasonable, maintaining that RVC permits have been approved and development phases are already underway.
"It is a delay in development, which will come in at a significant cost for Burnco," he argued.
The LPRT panel set March 7th as the next hearing date. In the meantime, materials concerning the wash plant from both the applicants and appellants will be submitted for review.
The panel noted they will not be requesting information on the asphalt plant, as it is sufficiently regulated by Alberta's Ministry of Environment.
"We appellants were pleased that the LPRT postponed the hearing of our appeal on compassionate grounds that affected the appellants leading up to the hearing and extra time it took to receive requested documents," Hall said. "There was not sufficient specific information from Burnco regarding the gravel washing plant to make any conclusions and decisions by the appellants or, in our opinion, by Rocky View County, which must balance its priorities on agriculture with business."
The LPRT was established under the Land and Property Rights Tribunal Act in 2021 to deliver fair, well-reasoned decisions and recommendations on a variety of matters, including designated industrial property assessment. The Tribunal grants right of entry and resolves compensation disputes when operators require access to private land or occupied Crown land for the purposes of developing subsurface resources.
